The HFPA's president sends Hollywood studios letters that ask them not to use word 'win' to describe their nominations.
- Jan 2, 2014
AceShowbiz - The Hollywood Foreign Press Association expresses their concern about Golden Globe nominees highlighting the word "winner" more than "nominee" in their ads. The Hollywood Reporter learns that the organization's president Theo Kingma sends letters to Hollywood studios, asking them to avoid misleading the public.
Fox Searchlight's "12 Years a Slave" which gets seven nominations including Best Motion Picture in Drama is one of those raising concerns with its ads. The Weinstein Co.'s "August: Osage County", "Philomena" and "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" are as well. The warning comes after other studios complained.
"We have recently seen several instances in which the word 'Winner' was used too prominently in publicity and advertising to describe nominees," Kingma says in his letter. "While earning a nomination is certainly an honor and one to be celebrated, it is not a 'win' and using that term or terms similar to it is likely to mislead the public and diminish the excitement around the awards show, when the winners will be revealed."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also faced similar problem but they already sorted it out years ago. The organization issued Rule 14ciii in the advertising section of their regulations, specifically stating that "pictures nominated for an Award of Merit may use the words 'OSCAR Nominee,' 'ACADEMY AWARD Nominee,' or similar descriptions incorporating the Academy's marks provided that... the word 'winner' or equivalent term is not used to describe the receipt of a nomination."
